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Justice News

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of West Virginia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Beckley Man Sentenced To Prison Time For Burglary Of Federal Post Office

BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that a Raleigh County man was sentenced (Jan. 10) to one year in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for burglary and aiding and abetting the burglary of a federal post office. Timothy Taylor, 31, of Beckley, was previously convicted in August 2012 by a federal jury sitting in Beckley for his role in the post office burglary scheme. Trial evidence revealed that Taylor forcibly broke into or aided and abetted co-defendant Benjamin Webb, 39, in the forcible break-in of the Fairdale Post Office.

Webb admitted that on October 30, 2011, he and co-defendant Taylor arrived at the Fairdale Post Office located in Beckley, W.Va. and gained entry into the post office by smashing a glass door using a sledgehammer. The post office was closed at the time the burglary occurred. Webb further admitted that once he and Taylor were inside of the post office, they stole nine packages and fled the scene.

Webb also admitted that the packages stolen from the post office were addressed to him and contained quantities of prohibited synthetic stimulants commonly known as “bath salts.”

Webb was previously sentenced in August 2012 to eight months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the scheme.

The Court also ordered the defendant to pay restitution in an amount not to exceed $1228, including the damage to the post office and the value of the stolen mail.

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Erik Goes and Larry Ellis handled the prosecution. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Irene C. Berger.